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I wanted to have a different challenge with WWSM06, having not played an extended career since CM01-02 (and even that was only a few seasons). I somewhat randomly decided to try a career in Russia. Running normal database, most/all Eastern European countries, plus Scandinavia, Spain and Portugal. Major European leagues were on Basic mode. I took over Sokol Saratov, my goal being to take them far into Europe (and not to move on to a bigger club).
Let me preface this by saying I did not necessarily follow the staff signing rule to the letter. I signed a couple of Eastern Europeans as coaches who did not speak Russian. If that disqualifies me from posting this forum, please let me know and I'll move on.
2005
We had a talented squad and I'd like to have thought we'd challenge for promotion, but unfortunately we could not string together results and ended up in 9th place (out of 22) in Russia's First Division (Second level out of two). With a number of past-30 players providing our offense, I made a committment to get younger, perhaps at the expense of short-term success.
9th Place, 68 points from 42 games. (Russian First Division)
2006
We held high hopes for this season with a crop of youngsters coming in over the break. Instead, we again got off to a slow start. This time around we were able to make a late run into 4th place, but to my dismay it was on the backs of our older players which is what I wanted to avoid for an aspiring Russian Premier Division team. Nevertheless, our 73 points from 42 games was a good total, and we had been simply unable to get things going early on.
4th Place, 73 points from 42 games. (Russian First Division)
Russian Cup 6th Round
2007
Finally, we got the strong start to the season we had previously longed for. We took an early lead, and never looked back from promotion. Moreover, we did it with the help on the back of our younger players finally. Late in the season Rostov made a charge for the title, but we held them off and easily gained promotion.
1st Place, 89 points from 42 games. (Russian First Division)
Russian Cup Quarterfinal
2008
Our bank account continued to grow, as did our squad. We prepared for our first Premier Division season with a number of modest-price signings (the highest being E400k), that we expected to make a big impact on our team. Our problem of starting slow continued to plague us, but again we battled out of relegation territory late to finish 10th in the Premier Division. In our improved youth squad (we know had a first-class training facility), a young regen was tearing things up. He wasn't quite ready for the big side yet, but we would be keeping a very close eye on him.
10th Place, 32 points from 30 games. (Russian Premier Division)
Russian Cup Quarterfinal
Again, our bank is healthy, and our wage and transfer budgets continue to expand. This is a big year for us, as some of our
young players come into their own and we find out if sweeping changes need to be made to get into Europe (my goals for this
career, from least to most fulfilling: qualify for Euro Cup, qualify for Champions League, win Russian Cup, win Premier
Division, win Euro Cup, win Champions League). Again, we start out very, very slow, but make a great run toward the end of the
season and cap it off with a shocking 2-0 road win against runaway champions CSKA Moscow (who have turned into Champions League
regulars). The win vaults us into 7th place to end the season, which I was pleased with, but at the same time disappointed
that we were short of Europe for another year (top two go to Champs Leaugue, 3rd & 4th to UEFA Cup, 5th to EURO Vase, Russian
Cup winner to UEFA Cup).
But, I learned that the Russian European slots have been expanded! Now the top three go to the Champions' League, next two to
UEFA Cup, and 6th & 7th EURO Vase (Russian Cup winner still goes to UEFA Cup)! So we have a chance to qualify for the UEFA
Cup. Keep in mind, though, that the Russian season ends in November. So we won't actually face European play until 7-8 months
later -- July of the following season (2010 in this case).
The Russian Cup again sees us make a quality run, but we fall to monsters CSKA Moscow (do I sense a small rivalry developing?)
by a 5-3 aggregate. Far from embarassing. For what it's worth, I feel like I should comment on the Russian Cup. I take it
pretty seriously, because of its timing. The 6th Round is where Premier Division teams enter, and that takes place near the
end of the season. There is a big gap between Premier Division and First Division teams, so this round is usually pretty easy. The 7th Round, however, is where it gets interesting (Round of 16), and this takes place immediately after the Premier Division season has concluded. So this can lead to exciting, meaningful games. Then there is a winter break before opening the following season with the Russian Cup Quarterfinals in early March. Since this is the first taste of competitive football for pretty much every team, it is again worth taking seriously. Therefore, I like to try and do as well as possible in the Russian Cup to get morale high for strong starts and finishes to the season.
We had brought in a host of youngsters prior to the 2009 season, most returning encouraging results. They included a 17yo [regen midfielder] for E1.2M, 20yo Ukrainian GK who we'd been hot after for a couple of seasons and finally got for a very modest fee (E150k), and a trio of central defenders to solidfy our weak backline. The goalkeeper, midfielder, and one defender ended up playing major roles for us in the 2009 season.
We sold on a handful of unhappy players (the typical complaint being they want to move on to higher level side to further their careers) for a net of E2.5m. So transfer-wise, we were roughly breaking even, but our gate receipts, TV revenue, and sponsorship deals kept us churning out a profit.
7th Place, 40 points from 30 games. (Russian Premier Division)
Russian Cup Quarterfinal
Again, our bank is healthy, and our wage and transfer budgets continue to expand. This is a big year for us, as some of our young players come into their own and we find out if sweeping changes need to be made to get into Europe (my goals for this career, from least to most fulfilling: qualify for Euro Cup, qualify for Champions League, win Russian Cup, win Premier Division, win Euro Cup, win Champions League). Again, we start out very, very slow, but make a great run toward the end of the season and cap it off with a shocking 2-0 road win against runaway champions CSKA Moscow (who have turned into Champions League regulars). The win vaults us into 7th place to end the season, which I was pleased with, but at the same time disappointed that we were short of Europe for another year (top two go to Champs Leaugue, 3rd & 4th to UEFA Cup, 5th to EURO Vase, Russian Cup winner to UEFA Cup).
But, I learned that the Russian European slots have been expanded! Now the top three go to the Champions' League, next two to UEFA Cup, and 6th & 7th EURO Vase (Russian Cup winner still goes to UEFA Cup)! So we have a chance to qualify for the UEFA Cup. Keep in mind, though, that the Russian season ends in November. So we won't actually face European play until 7-8 months later -- July of the following season (2010 in this case).
The Russian Cup again sees us make a quality run, but we fall to monsters CSKA Moscow (do I sense a small rivalry developing?) by a 5-3 aggregate. Far from embarassing. For what it's worth, I feel like I should comment on the Russian Cup. I take it pretty seriously, because of its timing. The 6th Round is where Premier Division teams enter, and that takes place near the end of the season. There is a big gap between Premier Division and First Division teams, so this round is usually pretty easy. The 7th Round, however, is where it gets interesting (Round of 16), and this takes place immediately after the Premier Division season has concluded. So this can lead to exciting, meaningful games. Then there is a winter break before opening the following season with the Russian Cup Quarterfinals in early March. Since this is the first taste of competitive football for pretty much every team, it is again worth taking seriously. Therefore, I like to try and do as well as possible in the Russian Cup to get morale high for strong starts and finishes to the season.
We had brought in a host of youngsters prior to the 2009 season, most returning encouraging results. They included a 17yo [regen midfielder] for E1.2M, 20yo Ukrainian GK who we'd been hot after for a couple of seasons and finally got for a very modest fee (E150k), and a trio of central defenders to solidfy our weak backline. The goalkeeper, midfielder, and one defender ended up playing major roles for us in the 2009 season.
We sold on a handful of unhappy players (the typical complaint being they want to move on to higher level side to further their careers) for a net of E2.5m. So transfer-wise, we were roughly breaking even, but our gate receipts, TV revenue, and sponsorship deals kept us churning out a profit.
7th Place, 40 points from 30 games. (Russian Premier Division)
Russian Cup Quarterfinal
LLM Journey in Russia 
Linear Mode
